According to the American Trucking Association, trucks move more than 9.4 billion tons of freight in the U.S. every year. This represents 68.5% of all freight by tonnage and over $642 billion of revenue, or about 81% of revenue from all U.S. freight transport modes. This vital industry has grown in importance as customers now expect to receive shipped items within days or even hours, a value proposition that only the versatility and speed of trucking can match. Additionally, new end customer demands for speed mean business-to-business transactions must happen faster.
As a result of the push for faster and cheaper delivery, efficiency is at a premium. The Department of Transportation estimates that trucks on U.S. highways consume more than 43 billion gallons of fuel annually. That represents over 1,700 gallons per vehicle and just 7.3 miles per gallon. This consumption also represents a significant contribution to greenhouse gases and air pollution. While strides have been made in cleaning air output in diesel engines, fuel efficiency remains unaddressed. Improving fuel efficiency reduces total fuel usage and helps the trucking industry to be more sustainable, while also meeting the growing performance demands stemming from customer delivery preferences. An electrically powered truck consumes less fuel, but producing, transmitting, and storing of that electricity likely still requires fuel. Furthermore, an electrically powered truck does not move through the air more efficiently than a gas or diesel powered truck.
Fuel efficiency may be improved by looking beyond the powertrain. Of course, the power train and simple rolling resistance are key contributors to fuel efficiency, but as trucks reach highway speeds, resistance from air friction and pressure friction causes up to 70% of fuel burn or other energy consumption. Pressure drag represents more than 90% of total drag. While existing accessory products on the market promise to improve drag efficiency by redirecting air, most products only contribute to marginal gains and lack durability. New products able to generate increased gains at a lower cost may improve fuel burn and energy consumption efficiency. Moreover, devices, systems, or methods that improve fuel burn and energy consumption efficiency in tractors and trailers may apply to other vehicles, even though the size and shapes may differ.
The devices and methods of the current disclosure may rectify some of the deficiencies described above or address other aspects of the prior art.